For Good
by Roselna
Summary: Jemima's sick. She's always known she was. But Victoria, her best friend, didn't. For RumpleJemima Fan's Musical Contest.


Jemima was in her den, piled under blankets that warmed her from the winter cold. She was sick. Deathly sick. It didn't appear that she would be able to make it through the winter. She'd been born smaller, weaker, frailer than the other kits. She was premature. Her brothers and sisters had all been stillborns. It was quite a miracle that she had lived through as many harsh winters that she had. But this year, she wasn't going to feel the warm of spring. She could tell. It didn't scare her. She had known it had been coming.

There was a knock on her door, then her best friend's voice yelling. "Come on, Jemima! You can't stay holed up in your den forever!"

Jemima sighed to herself. She hadn't told her about the approaching death. The knocking grew more impatient. _I can't wait forever. May as well get it over with now._ "Okay," she mewed. "Come on in!" She shrugged herself out from under the blankets, exposing her body that had bruises and was thinner than it should have been.

"Thank Bast! What have you been- WHAT THE HECK, JEM? WHAT DID YOU DO?" her friend yelled when she caught sight of Jemima's body.

Jemima's big topaz eyes filled up with tears. "Vic, you know how I've always had to stay inside for a lot of the winter? How Jenny told you to be careful whenever we played games as kits?" The snow white queen nodded, her ice blue eyes wide and fixated on Jemima's weak body. "Well, this is why." Jemima stood up and slowly rotated in a circle, letting Victoria see her thinness and the bruises. Tears started to leak out of her eyes when she caught sight of Victoria's expression.

"Oh, Jemima..." Victoria said, walking over and wrapping her arms around the smaller queen. Jemima coughed as the ears crept out of her closed eyes. "Jemima," Victoria repeated. The rust-black queen could tell by the sound of her voice that she was crying. The white queen was able to pick Jemima up and carry her over to her bed. She propped her up on some pillows and pulled the blankets back on top of her friend. "How much longer to you have?" Victoria asked, letting tears roll freely down her face.

"Not much," Jemima said, wiping her eyes with her paw. She gave another cough, then sniffled a little. Victoria began grooming her friend's fur, determined to make it look as nice as it possibly could.

"Is there anything Jenny or Jelly could do? What about going to a human vet? Or- I don't even know! How are we going to do all the things that we had planned? Like getting Tumble to fall in love with you? Or convincing Pounce that no, Cettie doesn't love Tugger anymore, you can go date her?" Victoria ranted. She was hysterical. The thought of losing her best friend was too much for the white queen.

"Victoria," Jemima said firmly. "Listen to me." The small queen took a breath, then sang,

_"I'm limited.  
Just look at me- I'm limited  
And just look at you  
You can do all I cannot do, 'Toria...  
So now it's up to you.  
For both of us- so now it's up to you."_

Even a death-bringing sickness couldn't kill Jemima's beautiful voice. Victoria's breath caught. She thought about what she was like before she met Jemima. Mean. Secretly hated. Stuck-up. A brat. The white queen looked into Jemima's topaz eyes, and caught their plea. She was begging for the white queen to do something she normally avoided. Victoria was struck by Jemima's request. This could be the last thing her friend ever asked of her. With newfound determination, she took her breath.

_"I've heard it said,  
That people come into our lives  
For a reason._  
_Bringing something we must learn_  
_And we are led_  
_To those who help us most to grow_  
_If we let them_  
_And we help them in return._  
_Now I don't know if I believe that's true,_  
_But I know I'm who I am today,_  
_Because I knew you."_

Jemima's eye shined with pride and happiness. Victoria never sang by herself. New tears leaked down her cheeks. Victoria felt wetness build up in her eyes again, and she charged forward with her song before she could loose confidence.

_"Like a comet pulled from orbit  
__As it passes the sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
__But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good."_

"Oh, Vicky..." Jemima started.

"No," the white queen said. "You're going to finish this song, if it's the last thing you do."

Jemima's eyes shined with thanks for unknown reasons. Then she took another breath, and sang again.

_"Well it may be  
That we will never meet again_  
_In this lifetime_  
_So let me say before we part_  
_So much of me_  
_Is made of what I learned from you_  
_You'll be with me_  
_Like a handprint on my heart_  
_And now whatever way our stories end_  
_I know you have re-written mine,_  
_By being my friend..._

_Like a ship blown from its mooring_  
_By a wind off the sea_  
_Like a seed dropped by a skybird_  
_In a distant wood_  
_Who can say if I've been changed for the better?_  
_But because I knew you,"_

_"Because I knew you,"_

Victoria sang. Then their voices joined,

_"I have been changed for good."_

Jemima looked her straight in the eyes, then continued.

_"And just to clear the air,  
I ask forgiveness  
For things I've done you blamed me for."_

Victoria rebuked.

_"But then, I guess we know  
There's blame to share."_

_"And none of it seems to matter, anymore!"_

Their voices joined again, Jemima's hitting a brilliant harmony note. Victoria then repeated some of her part again, Jemima singing on top of her.

_"Like a comment pulled from orbit  
__As it passes the sun,"_

_"Like a ship blown from its mooring_  
_By a wind off the sea,"_

_"Like a creek that meets a boulder,_  
_Halfway through the wood,"_

_"Like a seed dropped by a bird,_  
_In a distant wood."_

For another time, their voices joined.

_"Who can say, if I've been  
Changed for the better,  
I do believe I have been changed for the better,  
But,"_

_"Because I knew you,"_

_"Because I knew you,"_

_"Because I knew you,  
I have been changed...for...  
Good..."_

Victoria sang first. Jemima sang in response. Then their voices joined for one last time. Both queens had tears rolling down their faces at the end. Jemima sighed and leaned back into the pillows. "Vicky?"

"Yes?"

"Can you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Go tell the others about me."

"What? Why?"

"They deserve to know. I hid it for long enough. I don't know how much longer I've got. I want to see them all and explain it before I have to go."

Victoria stared at her friend. "But...but..."

"Vic. Please."

The white queen sighed. She trucked to the door, then glanced over her shoulder.

Jemima smiled. "Don't worry. I'll still be here when you get back." She wasn't talking about physically.

"Promise?" Victoria said.

"I promise, Vicky. I swear."

* * *

"JEMIMA'S WHAT?" Tumblebrutus roared. Pouncival stood by him, jaw at his paws. Mistoffelees's blue eyes were wide, staring at his sister.

Victoria blinked back her tears. "She's sick. She always has been. She didn't tell us. But this winter..." Victoria's throat closed up. She swallowed hard, trying to force the lump away. "This winter...is...it's her last one," she finally choked out.

Pouncival turned away. His shoulders quivered slightly as he shed his tears. Tumble stood, frozen with shock. Mistoffelees sank down to the ground, putting his head in his paws. Victoria sniffled a little bit. "She wanted me to tell you," she said softly, her eyes on the ground.

"Who's with her right now, making sure she's..." Tumble struggled to find the right words. "Making sure she's...still there?"

"Cettie and Leccy are with her right now," Victoria said. Slowly, she was getting the impression that she and Jemima didn't need to get Tumble to fall in love with the rust-black queen.

"Well then what are we standing around here for?" Pounce said, turning around and wiping his cheeks. "Let's go see her."

Victoria's lips turned up in a smile, and she and the three toms quickly made their way to Jemima's den. Tumble rapped on the door sharply, then let himself in. "Hey, 'Mima," he said. Victoria made a mental note that he had a nickname for Jemima that no one else used.

Electra and Etcetera were both sitting on the bed with Jem, Etcy with tears running down her face, and Electra with her green eyes sparkling with wetness, threatening to overflow. All of the toms gathered around the queen, and everyone held each others' paws.

* * *

In the next few weeks, Jemima was never without company. There was always at least one cat in her den with her, most often Victoria or Tumblebrutus. When Jemima was asleep, Demeter, her mother, was most often with her, shooing out the younger cats and making them go hunt or do something. After much worrying, complaining, and mice, Victoria, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, Etcetera, Electra, and Mistoffelees were planning something. Something big. They spent every waking moment of free time together, taking advantage of when Demeter or one of the other cats wanted to stay by Jemima's side. They were planning a huge, elaborate dance that they would preform for her.

The winter cold really started to set in. It hadn't snowed yet, but the sky stayed rather gray. The six practiced persistently, despite the rebuke from Jenny and Jelly. The two motherly queens stopped protesting after a couple days, simply kept a supply of hot water, tea, and milk that the six would come for every hour or so. The sound of lightning from Mistoffelees became normal, as did the dull thumps as one of them would slip and fall or run into one another. Victoria was the main over-seer for the project, and thought with pride that they would be ready in the next few days.

One certain afternoon, when the weather wasn't quite as cold, Cettie and Pounce were missing -together, no doubt-, so Victoria spent a longer time with Jemima. Tumble sat with them, trying to keep a smile on Jemima's face at all times. After a while of this, Jellylorum came in and shooed them out, insisting that it was time for she and Jenny to give Jemima her every-other-day checkup. Victoria and Tumble left together, and decided to take advantage of the decent weather by hunting outside of the junkyard.

"She seemed healthier today," Tumble said cheerfully. Victoria smiled and nodded, her ice blue eyes scanning for a hint of a rat or mouse. True, it would have been easier to go to her human's house, but that could prevent her from getting back out to the junkyard for and extended period of time.

"So, Tumble," she said after a while, as they walked side by side through London.

When she didn't say anything for a few mintues, the patched tom finally said. "What, Vic?"

The white queen whipped to the side, catching Tumblebrutus by surprise. She shoved him up against the wall with the strength of a dancer. In the back of her mind, she knew that Tumble had two advantages: One, he was a tom, stronger than her by nature, and two, an acrobat's arms were considerably stronger than her's. But the sudden force seemed to have shocked him out of his senses. She looked straight in his eyes, an accusing glint in hers. "You love Jemima." It wasn't a question.

Tumble's expression was one of shock. He didn't object to the accusation, though. He sighed. "Yeah," he said, quiet. "I do. But for her to be...leaving...I just don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, as a kit, yeah, I had this crush on her. But it never went away...and now..." he trailed off, knowing that he didn't have to supply an ending to his sentence.

Victoria smiled triumphantly. "You know," she said, dropping back down to four paws, "She loves you, too. One of our plans was to find a way to make you fall in love with her."

Tumble slowly slipped back down to four paws. His brown eyes shined with hope. "Really?"

Victoria nodded, smiling slightly.

"Then let's get back to the 'yard! We gotta finish getting the dance ready!" Tumble yelled. The tom then turned and bolted back towards the Jellicle Junkyard. The white queen looked after him for a few moments, eyebrows raised. Then her eyes caught sight of a mouse, which she jumped on, grabbing it to take back with her.

* * *

"Come on, Jenny. Please? You couldn't have expected us to preform _in Jemima's den."_

"Of course, not, sweetie. But Jemima simply _cannot_ go outside in this cold weather."

"Mum! You know how hard we worked to get it ready! You can't seriously be telling us that she's not allowed to see it!"

"I'm afraid so, dear."

"But Jenny! It's not fair!"

"Nothing's fair-"

"Jenny," Skimbleshanks said, cutting off his mate. He and the Gumbie Cat stood, facing an angry group of cats. "Let the lassie go out and see it. Ye can clart her up wit as many blankets ye want. But ye saw how hard thay wirked. Thay deserve for it tae be seen."

Pounce and Tumble grinned at their father appreciatively. Jenny huffed rather angrily, but turned around and started gathering mittens, hats, scarves, blankets, and sweaters to put on Jemima. The queens squealed excitedly, then turned and dashed out of Jennyanydot's den to Jemima's. They all barged in at once, causing Munkustrap to jump. He whipped around, fangs bared and fur on end. When he realized it was just the queens, he relaxed. Jemima sat up, her eyes starting to shine with excitement. "What is it?" she asked. Her voice was slightly hoarse, like that of someone overcoming a cold. According to Jenny and Jelly, it was a miracle she could speak at all at this point.

"We've got something to _shooooow_ you!" Etcetera sang.

Jemima's hazel eyes lit up brighter than they had in weeks. Her gazed turned to the door as Jenny bustled in, ladened down with multiple chunks of cloth. "Alright, dearie. Come on, let's get you up. Your friends have something to show you," the Gumbie Cat said.

"I just said that," Etcy whispered, earning giggles from her friends and a sharp look from Jenny. It took the four queens to get her all bundled up, and then Munkustrap carried her out to the clearing, her friends happily running around, talking to the rust-black queen. When they got to the clearing, the three toms were waiting for them, standing in the center. The rest of the junkyard was sitting in the sidelines, and there was a special spot left on the tire for Jemima, next to Alonzo and Demeter. Munkustrap hurriedly carried her up and settled down, keeping the tiny queen in his arms.

"Alright 'Mima," Tumble yelled, turning and facing her. "We have a little something to show you, okay?" Jemima nodded energetically from under all her clothes and blankets. "Okay!" Tumble turned and nodded to Misto, who started up an old CD player with a little shock. The lights flickered on, and music from the Jellicle Ball started to play. Pounce and Tumble started at two opposite sides of the clearing, then ran at each other, going into front handsprings and continuing to the beat of the music. They did acrobatics for a few minutes, and then ran off to the sides opposite where they started as Etcy, Electra, and Victoria ran on to replace them in a small triangle, Electra at the middle with Victoria to her left and Etcetera to her right. They danced the queens' part of the ball, the one right after where Alonzo and the other older toms danced. As they drew near the end, the music changed to that of Mistoffelees's, and the tuxedoed tom ran forward, his coat glittering as he jumped into his toe-touches, then danced around the clearing, sending his lightning around. Victoria glanced at Jemima, and saw her laughing, her cheeks pink with excitement. Pounce and Tumble ran back on, doing a few more tricks before moving into more dancing from the Jellicle Ball that Misto joined into with them. Etcetera and Electra danced on the sides, and Victoria saw her cue. They were in a triangle, with Mistoffelees in the middle in the back. The white queen ran to the center and started spinning, doing more pirouettes than she could count as the others threw their arms into the air. Victoria stopped spinning and bent her knees, practically throwing herself on the ground, then she threw herself back up, raising her arms into the same position as the others, eyes closed and head lifted to the sky. All six of them were breathing heavily. The rest of the Jellicles broke into an uproar of applause.

Victoria let her arms down and opened her eyes, looking directly to Jemima, who looked like she might cry. They all ran to her. "You guys are...the best," Jemima gasped, wiggling her arms out of the blanket enough to throw them around her friends. The rust-black queen sobbed into Tumble and Victoria's shoulders, and the other four closed off a circle around her.

* * *

That night, Victoria sat on her palett in Jemima's den, carefully writing on a piece of paper in the dim light of the moon that shone through the window in Jemima's den. Her white ears perked up, and she looked over at Jemima's bed to see the small queen looking at her.

"Vicky?" the soft voice came.

"Yes?"

"Can you take me outside?" The white queen stayed silent. "Please, Vic. I need to see the moon." There was an urgency in Jemima's voice that Victoria couldn't ignore. She moved and picked Jemima up, feeling the now-familiar jab of pain that she could lift her friend easily. She wrapped Jemima in a blanket, then carried her out to the TSE 1, where Jemima could see the moon clearly. Victoria climbed up onto the old car. "Can you let me down? Please?" Victoria did as she was asked, then slipped off of the car to see the small queen.

Jemima pulled herself up to her old spot for the Jellicle Ball. Her big hazel eyes looked up to the moon, and she seemed to soak up the moonlight, giving a ghostly glow around her. The queen stood up smoothly, the same look of wonder on her face that there had been two Jellicle Balls ago. And then, she opened her mouth, and out came her most beautiful solo.

_"__Moonlight, turn your face to the moonlight  
__Let your memory  
__Lead you,  
__Open up enter in.  
__If you find there the meaning of what happiness is,  
__Than a new...life...will...  
__Begin!"_

On her last word, instead of dipping down like she normally did, her voice went up, to the highest, most beautiful note that could be hit. The rust-black queens sank down, the moon-like glow fading, starting to flicker. It seemed to be trying to get away from her body. Victoria shot herself up the car, yanking herself up and catching Jemima as she fell down. When Victoria looked at the small queen's face, there was a gentle smile on her face, and her eyes were closed peacefully. Victoria looked up, and the same moonlight colored glow was floating. It remained in Jemima's spot for a moment, and seemed to take the shape of the queen. Then it floated up to the sky, disappearing before long. Victoria looked down the the now-still body. Tears started pouring from her eyes. She sat and sobbed, clutching her friend close to her, though she could never hold her again. She stayed there till the morning, where she was found by the rest of the Jellicles. Many cried out. Others sobbed silently. It was a day of mourning.

* * *

Hours later, there was a memorial service. A few Jellicles had calmed down enough to give Jemima a good spot, a beautiful casket. It was put in the center of the clearing, where they were allowed to pay their last respects to the musical queen before the protectors carried the casket off to bury it. Many stayed for a while. But when Victoria stumbled into the clearing, they all left. The white queen was a sight. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her fur was mussed. She swayed to her best friend's resting place, then fell to her knees in front of it, grabbing the lifeless paw. She let out a scream of agony. Losing Jemima was losing the sister she never had. She stayed in that position for at least and hour. She finally pulled herself up, her face tear-streaked and blotchy. She pressed a kiss to Jemima's forehead, then turned and started to move away.

What stopped her, was a noise. It was a soft, short little gasp. The white queen whipped around, her eyes wide. She was quick enough to see the moonlight shape settling back down into Jemima's body. Her eyes widened as the casket started to glow in that same moonlight-colored haze. When it died away, the casket was gone. What was left was Jemima's body, laying on the ground. Victoria ran up to it. It wasn't the body she had grown used to seeing. It was healthy, without any bruises or thinness. She stared in shock. Then, there was the gasp again. Jemima's mouth opened. Then her hazel eyes snapped open, shooting up into a sitting position. Victoria shirked, then tackled Jemima.

"You're okay!" she yelled. "You're alive!"

Jemima looked around in a daze. Then she smiled. "Yes. The Everlasting Cat granted my wish," she said. She looked at her friend. "To be able to stay with my friends."

Victoria started sobbing again, clutching Jemima in her arms. Soon, there was a yell from behind them. It was Tumblebrutus, who had come to say good-bye to Jemima for a final time. He ran forward, scooping the rust-black queen into his arms and planting a kiss right on her lips. Then he jerked back and squeezed her. "You're alive!" he yelled, just as Victoria had.

Jemima's eyes had grown big when Tumble had kissed her, and then they closed when he hugged her. Victoria giggled through her tears as Jemima's mouth moved in a silent 'yes'.

By this time, all of their yelling had attracted a good bit of the Jellicles. Everyone was yelling and crying and trying to get a piece of the rust-black queen's attention- rather unsuccessfully. She was too busy staring at Tumble with a loving expression. Only when her mother came up and wailed in happiness did the small queen snap out of it. Jemima spent the rest of the evening hugging, crying, and laughing. After a few hours, she made her way back to Victoria. They didn't say anything, simply hugged each other. Then, while no one was looking, they slipped into a hiding spot that only they knew about, where they could see everything that was going on in front of them. The once mourning spot had turned into a large party, and Jemima and Victoria watched with interest. They say Etcetera and Pouncival cuddling, hidden from most everyone. They giggled as Mistoffelees tapped Electra on the shoulder, then surprised her by presenting her with a red rose, which she took shyly. Tumble was looking around with a rather confused expression, wondering where the rust-black queen had gone off to. Plato walked up to Tumble, and asked him something. The patched tom shrugged, and then they both started to look together.

"I'll bet Plato's looking for you," Jemima said teasingly.

"And I'll bet Tumble's looking for you," Victoria teased right back. She sighed. "So...now we don't have to worry about you getting sick like that again?"

Jemima shook her head, smiling. "I'm here to stay," she said, pounding on her chest to show that she was healthy. Victoria laughed.

"Good," she said firmly. "Now...I think we need to get Misty to ask Electra out next...so...how about we do that tomorrow?"

Jemima nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Defiantly." With that, the two snaked out of the hiding spot and back into the party, not worrying about there not being a tomorrow to do things. They had their whole lives ahead of them. And together, they would change them, for good.

* * *

**A/N:**

You should know me well enough to know I can't possibly manage to kill off any character, let alone kill off Jemima! And sorry if Skimble's accent is sucky, Google didn't want to cooperate with me. For RumpleJemima Fan's musical contest.

Disclaimer: I don't own Cats, or Wicked. They belong to ALW, TSE, RUG Inc, and Stephan Swartz.


End file.
